THE NATIONAL GEOG
comfortable train at the canal base camp,
Kantara, and arrive early the next morn
ing in Jerusalem.
This quick and comfortable trip has
been made possible by the last Crusaders,
many of whom sleep beneath the lonely
crosses that mark the road from the Suez
Canal to the gates of the Holy City.
On December 5 the British forces had
fought forward to a line from Neby
Samwil to a position opposite Ain Karim,
a distance of just under five miles.
Neby Samwil is 2,935 feet above sea
level and quite the highest point in the
vicinity of Jerusalem. It is about four
and a half miles from the north wall of
the city. Ain Karim, the traditional
birthplace of John the Baptist, is about
four miles slightly to the southwest of
Jerusalem.
HOW THE ATTACK WAS LAUNCHED
The actual attack on Jerusalem was
begun on the morning of December 8.
Unfortunately, on December 7 it had be
gun to rain, and there was a deluge for
three days, as it was the rainy season.
Mist and fog hung over the hills and
made aeroplane observation practically
impossible.
The rain also made the roads almost
impassable for mechanical transport and
the camels were useless. The troops had
been moved up in the same clothing they
had worn in the desert campaign-khaki
drill and shorts-and the men suffered
severely from the intense cold.
The general who commanded the 6oth
division told me that on the night of De
cember 7 he'had brought up from Jaffa
all the oranges he could get, and then
went among the troops and threw the
fruit on the ground and made the men
scramble for it as they would in a foot
ball game, to get them warmed up.
The only food the troops had was bully
beef and biscuits. But in spite of cold,
rain, and rough food, they were all ex
ceedingly keen to go forward. Every
soldier, that cold, rainy December night,
seemed to be inspired with the spirit of
the old Crusaders, as he went forward,
singing, to the attack.
About midnight the British forces
reached the position of deployment and
the attack began. By dawn they had cap-
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tured all of their first objectives. It is
impossible to speak of this attack as a
charge, because, as I went over all the
ground, I found it was quite difficult even
to crawl up the side of the hill.
Their last objective lay quite a little
way out of the city. It was an old fac
tory on top of the hill, in which there had
been installed a large number of ma
chine guns, which swept the slopes.
At 8 o'clock on the morning of De
cember 8, the British left the Turkish
trenches they had captured and made for
the factory. The only cover was the big
rocks on the hillside, and they went for
ward in the style of the old Indian fighter.
At 4 o'clock that afternoon they made a
final rush and seized the crest. At 5
o'clock the assailants were in possession,
and this practically meant the capture of
Jerusalen, as there were no more com
manding heights to which the Turks
could retire.
THE SURRENDER OF THE CITY
On the morning of December 9, Pri
vates H. E. Church and R. W. J. An
drew, of the 220th London Regiment,
sighted a white flag outside of Jerusalem.
The news was immediately wired back to
Major General Shea, who at once wired
General Allenby.
General Allenby telegraphed: "Go for
ward at once and receive the surrender
of the city in my name."
General Shea immediately went for
ward and from the acting mayor and
chief of police he received the surrender
of Jerusalem. Of course, it was received
outside the city wall.
At noon on December II General Al
lenby made his official entry into Jerusa
lem through the small, narrow Jaffa
Gate, on foot, in his ordinary active serv
ice uniform, without even the display of
military medals.
What a contrast to the entry of the
Kaiser, when he made his pilgrimage to
Jerusalem in 1898! His agents had the
Turks tear down a part of the city walls
near the Jaffa Gate so that he could ad
vance through a passage made solely for
himself, and on horseback he entered,
with all the pomp and glory and display
of wealth that the Teutonic mind could
conceive.